20,253 Shares in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO) Acquired by Aigen Investment Management LP

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP acquired 20,253 shares of Akero Therapeutics, Inc., valued at approximately $820,000, marking a significant investment in the company.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Buy" for Akero Therapeutics, with price targets ranging from $64.00 to $81.57.
• Insider trading activity includes substantial sales, with Catriona Yale and Timothy Rolph selling a combined total of 35,000 shares, reflecting a 9.52% and 12.84% decrease in their ownership, respectively.

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKRO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 20,253 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $820,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RTW Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. RTW Investments LP now owns 6,859,823 shares of the company's stock worth $190,840,000 after purchasing an additional 940,388 shares in the last quarter. Deep Track Capital LP grew its position in Akero Therapeutics by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 1,490,000 shares of the company's stock worth $41,452,000 after acquiring an additional 800,216 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $18,059,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akero Therapeutics by 93.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,155,787 shares of the company's stock worth $46,786,000 after buying an additional 557,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Akero Therapeutics by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,230,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,256,000 after purchasing an additional 526,233 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AKRO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Akero Therapeutics from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Akero Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Citigroup dropped their target price on Akero Therapeutics from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. TD Cowen started coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cowen assumed coverage on Akero Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, August 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.57.

Akero Therapeutics Stock Down 1.4%

AKRO stock traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.38. The stock had a trading volume of 2,185,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,788. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.69 and a beta of -0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.32. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.34 and a 52-week high of $58.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 12.66 and a quick ratio of 16.80.

Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.86) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.97) by $0.11. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.81) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Akero Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Andrew Cheng sold 37,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.05, for a total value of $2,045,089.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 556,487 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,078,122.35. This trade represents a 6.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy Rolph sold 25,000 shares of Akero Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.04, for a total value of $1,376,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 169,721 shares in the company, valued at $9,341,443.84. This trade represents a 12.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 230,406 shares of company stock valued at $12,013,920. Company insiders own 7.07% of the company's stock.

Akero Therapeutics Profile

Akero Therapeutics, Inc, together with its subsidiary, engages in the development of treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is efruxifermin (EFX), which is in Phase 3 clinical trials that protects against cellular stress and regulates the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins throughout the body for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patients.